http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20101...rganic-no-till


Jeff Moyer -- Championing organic no-till

Preserving the health in the soil while eliminating weeds.
Jeff Moyer has been farm manager/director at the Rodale Institute for
more than 28 years, has served as chair of the USDA¹s National Organic
Standards Board, and is a founding board member of Pennsylvania
Certified Organic. He has also been working on perfecting an organic
no-till system that reduces and even eliminates both tillage and the
herbicides on which most no-till systems are dependent.

What tool couldn¹t you live without?
Cover crops. They are the biological tools that are the keys to success
of our farm.
-----

No till has worked for me for the last 2 years, although I'm in a
quandary about what to do with the potatoes. I hate digging up the soil
and ruining all of the earthworm's labors (not to mention the
mycorrhiza). Maybe it's not so bad, if it only happens every 5 years or
so.

I still have some pepper plants, but they have looked better.

Rain in the garden today (50F/39F).
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/j...acks_1-5-09.ph
p

g'day billy,

we do 'no-till'

and also grow our potato's under mulch on the lawn through our winter
still no dig.

On Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:56:47 -0800, Billy
wrote:

http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20101...rganic-no-till
snipped
--

Matthew 25:13 KJV
"Watch therefore, for ye know neither
the day nor the hour wherein the Son
of man cometh"

Mark 13:33 "Take ye heed, watch and pray:
for ye know not when the time is".

len

With peace and brightest of blessings,

"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

In article ,
gardenlen wrote:

g'day billy,

we do 'no-till'

and also grow our potato's under mulch on the lawn through our winter
still no dig.

I like it ;O)

On Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:56:47 -0800, Billy
wrote:

http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20101...rganic-no-till
snipped
--

Matthew 25:13 KJV
"Watch therefore, for ye know neither
the day nor the hour wherein the Son
of man cometh"

Mark 13:33 "Take ye heed, watch and pray:
for ye know not when the time is".

len

With peace and brightest of blessings,

"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/j...acks_1-5-09.ph
p

"Billy" wrote in message
...
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20101...rganic-no-till



My plan last year was based on a modified no till method by Ruth Stout. With
a pile of hay and fabric for ground cover. Due to my weed issues. I skipped
the no till part though. And I'm looking at what I have now and its a mess
out there. Plants , leaves, grass , bark, branches, weeds laying
everywhere.

So I don't know what to do either. I got the part about screwing up the
worms and nematodes and bacteria . But
tilling sure cleans up the mess doesn't it?

In article ,
"DogDiesel" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/20101...rganic-no-till



My plan last year was based on a modified no till method by Ruth Stout. With
a pile of hay and fabric for ground cover. Due to my weed issues. I skipped
the no till part though. And I'm looking at what I have now and its a mess
out there. Plants , leaves, grass , bark, branches, weeds laying
everywhere.

So I don't know what to do either. I got the part about screwing up the
worms and nematodes and bacteria . But
tilling sure cleans up the mess doesn't it?

So does laying newspaper over the beds, then covered the newspaper with
mulch, and hosed it down. Last year, I laid drip irrigation on top of
that and then covered all with clear plastic (wait 6 weeks before
planting, if you can). I cut openings in the plastic near emitters, and
used a dibble to create a planting hole. The plastic made the ground
about 5F warmer than without, and I was ahead of most gardeners in the
region by about 3 weeks.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/j...acks_1-5-09.ph
p

"gardenlen" wrote in message
...
we do 'no-till'
and also grow our potato's under mulch on the lawn through our winter
still no dig.

Best use of a lawn EVER!
--S.

i tried this zero tillage thing too, since i got an advise during my studies of how to start ecological farming. well i must say, i was more than disappointed and i am still looking for the right alternative. not even sure, what i want anymore.

In article , huluzu s wrote:

i tried this zero tillage thing too, since i got an advise during my
studies of how to start ecological farming. well i must say, i was more
than disappointed and i am still looking for the right alternative. not
even sure, what i want anymore.

Odd. I have used this method for the last 5 years and I am very happy
with it. Last year, I was a month ahead of other gardeners in my area. I
can't imagine what could have gone wrong. Things do go wrong. Last year
was a cool year here, but the problems that I had weren't the mulches
fault.

You did mulch, didn't you?
--
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZkDikRLQrw

yes yes. i did use mulch.
but i also believe that it might have been a combination between the way too rough winter and my inpatience. actually i wasn't too engaging to that.
let my husband do most of the work and i'm not quite sure, what he did wrong.
but at this time i take a little break anyway, so i go enough time to research for other possible alternatives.

In article , huluzu s wrote:

'Billy[_10_ Wrote:
;913511']In article , huluzu s wrote:
-
i tried this zero tillage thing too, since i got an 'advise during my
studies' (http://studyadvisor.com/) of how to start ecological farming.
well i must say, i was more
than disappointed and i am still looking for the right alternative.
not
even sure, what i want anymore. -

Odd. I have used this method for the last 5 years and I am very happy
with it. Last year, I was a month ahead of other gardeners in my area. I

can't imagine what could have gone wrong. Things do go wrong. Last year

was a cool year here, but the problems that I had weren't the mulches
fault.

You did mulch, didn't you?


yes yes. i did use mulch.
but i also believe that it might have been a combination between the way
too rough winter and my inpatience. actually i wasn't too engaging to
that.
let my husband do most of the work and i'm not quite sure, what he did
wrong.
but at this time i take a little break anyway, so i go enough time to
research for other possible alternatives.

Spread your amendments on the beds
N:
18.37 lb. chicken manure/ 100 sq.ft. (2.88 oz/sq.ft.)

P: (rock phosphate)
3 lb. / 100/sq.ft. (.48 oz/sq.ft.)

K:
How much wood ash should you use in your garden? The late Bernard G.
Wesenberg, a former Washington State University Extension
horticulturist, recommended using one gallon of ashes per square yard on
loam to clay-loam soil, and half as much on sandier soils.

Cover with sheets of newspaper

Cover newspaper with 3" to 4" alfalfa

Hose the bed

Wait 4 - 6 weeks and plant with seedlings. Use a dibble, ideally the
pointy (sharpened) end of an old shovel handle, to make the planting
holes.

For seeding directly to the soil
Rake in the amendments,
Seed,
add mulch as plants grow.

Mulch can act as cover for pill bugs, silver fish, and other insects
that can eat the very tender eaves of sprouting plants.
--
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZkDikRLQrw

oh wow @billy.
thanks for all the detailed advise. will print them out and discuss it with my husband.
maybe we should give it another try.

g'day dogdiesel,

we've never tilled and never had a mess so realy can't add to you
comment.

On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 12:05:29 -0500, "DogDiesel"
wrote:

snipped
--

Matthew 25:13 KJV
"Watch therefore, for ye know neither
the day nor the hour wherein the Son
of man cometh"

Mark 13:33 "Take ye heed, watch and pray:
for ye know not when the time is".

len

With peace and brightest of blessings,

"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

thanks suzanne,

yep that's waht we figured as well.

snipped
--

Matthew 25:13 KJV
"Watch therefore, for ye know neither
the day nor the hour wherein the Son
of man cometh"

Mark 13:33 "Take ye heed, watch and pray:
for ye know not when the time is".

len

With peace and brightest of blessings,

"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/